BEIJING-- The key to mending China-Japan relations lies in the "wise political decision" by future Japanese leaders, a senior Chinese diplomat said on Thursday.

State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan told Masao Kimiwada, TV Asahi president, that China has already worked and will continue to work to remove political barriers from China-Japan relations.

"We hope Japan will work together with China to get relations back on track. The key is that the future Japanese leaders make wise political decisions," Tang said.

The Sino-Japanese relations have been soured by Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's repeated visits to the Yasukuni Shrine, where Japan's war dead, including 14 class A criminals in WWII, are honored.

Koizumi's latest shrine visit on August 15, the anniversary of his country's World War II surrender, further damaged China-Japan political relations.

Koizumi is set to step down in September. The Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe, the leading prime ministerial candidate, has defended Koizumi's pilgrimages to the controversial Yasukuni Shrine and refused to say whether or not he would visit the shrine as prime minister.

Tang reiterated that sound China-Japan ties would be based on observance of three political documents and proper handling of the history and Taiwan issues.

"The most important thing is that Japan should correctly view and handle the history issue and refrain from offending the Chinese people," Tang said.

He added that Japan should respect China's stance on the Taiwan issue and not harm China's peaceful reunification.